Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-05-29
CHAPTER XIV.
ROUGH JOURNEY.

| South Africa, John made good progress.
Rv eleven o'clock that day he had reached
! S~tanderton, a little town upon the Naal,
not far from which he was destined, mad
he but known it, to meet with a sufficiently
striking experience. Here he obtained con-
frmation of the Bronker's Spruit disaster,
and listened with set face and blazing eyes
to the tale of treachery ana wholeslle
massacre which was, rs he said, without u
parallel in the annals o civlllZed war. put
after all, what does it matterH-a niue
Suuare of neglected. graves at BronEer $
Spruit. a few more windows, and a hundred
or so of orphans. England, by her govern
ment, answered the question plainly-lt
matters very little. ,
Al Standerton John was again warned
| that il would be impossible for hlm 10
make his way through the Beers at Heldel-
berg, a town about sixty miles from IRE
toria. where the Triumyirate, Kruger.
! Pretorius, and JOubert, had proclaimed the
| republic. But he answered rs before, that
he must 80 on till he WAS stopped, anu III
spanning his horses, set Onward again, "
little eOmtOrted by the news that the blshop
of Pretoria, who was hurrying mp to reloin
his family, had passed through a lew hours
before, also intent upon running the
blockade, and that if he drove fast ne
might Overtake him.
On he went, hour after hour, over the
great deserted plain, but he dld not sue
coed in catching up to the bishop. ABOUT
forty milesfrom StandertOn he saw q wagon
standing bv the roadside, and halted to see
if he could get any information from Its
its driver. But on investigation 1t became
clear that the wagon had been looted ofthe
provisions aud goods with which 1t was
loaded and the oxen driven of. Nor was
this the only evidence of violence. Across
the diSselbOom OF the wagon, the hands
| still clasping a long bamboo whip, as
though he had been trying to defend him.
self with it, lay the dead body OF the native
| driver. His face, John noticed, was so
composed and peaceful that, had 1t not
been for the attitude and Il neat little Dlue
hole in the forehead, you might have
thought he was asleep aud not dead.
At sunset John ~outspauned his now flag
ring horses by the roadside, and gave them
each a couple of bundles OF forge from the
| store that he had brought with him. While
/ they were eating it, leaving Moutl to keep
AN eve to them, he went some way on ana
sat down on a big antheap to think. Ii
WAS a wild and melancholy scene thai
stretched away before and behind him,
| Miles upon miles OF plain, rolling east and
west and north and south, like the pillows
of n frozen sea, only broken far along the
| Heidelberg road, by some hills, known, as
Roof Koppies. Nor was this all. over
head was blazing and burning one Ofthose
remarkable sunsets which one sometimes
sees in summer in Africa. The sky was
fun OF lowering clouds, and the sullen orr
of the setting sun had stained them per,
tcctly blOOd-red. BlOOd-rvd they iioateo
| through the Ominous sky, and blood-reo
| their shadows lay upon the grass. Ever
the air seemed red. 1t looked rs though
earth and heaven had been stepped II
blood; and, fresh as John was from TIT
sight OF the dead driver, his ears yet ting
ling with the tale of BrOnker's Sprult, II
is not Ia be wondered ut that the suggestive
sight oppressed him seated in that lonely
waste, wiJhno company except that melan
choly ''kakdra-kdkdrG' of an old black
koran hidden away somewhere in the grass
He was not much given to that sort oi
! thing, hut he did begin to wonder whether
this was the last journey OF all the many
he had made during the last twenty years,
and if BOer bullet was about to solve thu
mystery of life and death for him.
fud then he 90. TO the stage of depreSsior
that most meOp,e ave made acquaintance
with at OF. time or another, when one he
gins to ask, "What is the usC Of it? Why
gre we born? What good do we 10 here;
v shout we be So he walO- tv o.
.. rkinG doubtless aIrl mere animal,
alden up withSOrrOws ill at last ON ponl
rr ks break I,'Gou powerful or power
-s. If powerful, why did ne not let us
...cp in peace, without setting us here tC
Jaste of every pam AMI NORTH 'ation 70 be
come q intcd with every griet, and
tlcn 10 perish miserabiy .' Old questions
these, which the cheerful cri. justly con
dennis ~ morbid aud futile, anu to Dt
dangled before q merry world Of make.
believe. Aud perhaps they arG righg. 1t
is better to play at marbles ON A sepulClr,
than TO lift the lid and peep inside. But,
Tor all that, hey will arise when we sit
alone ut even in our individual wilder,
neSS, surrounded, perhaps, by mementOes
of our broken hopes and tokens OF our be-
loved dead, strewnabout Us like the bleach
ing bones of the wild game on the veldt,
and in spirit watch the red sun Of our eX-
Etence sinking towards the yapOry horizon.
They will come even To the sanguins suc-
ceSsiul man. One CaunOt always play nj
marbles; the lid of the sepulchre will some
times slip aside of itself, and ~ cannot
help seeing. OF course, however, it de-
ponds upon he dispOs ton. Some people
can. metapbDrically, smoke cigarettes anil
make pms by the deatl-beds of then
dearest friend, or even Ou their own. One
should pray tor a disposition like JhGt-il
makes the world SO much ~pleaSanter.
BY the time the horses had done their
forge and Mouti had forced the bits into
their reluctant mouths, the angry splendOl
OF the sunset had faded, and the quiet
night was falling over the glowing veldt
like a pail ON one scarce dead. There was,
fortunately for the travellers, a bright half,
moon, and by its light John managed Ia
direct the cart over many a weary mile.
On he went for hour after hour, keeping
his tired horses to the collar rs best he
could, till at last, about eleven o'clock, he
saw the lights Of Heidelberg before him,
and knew that the question OF whether OF
not his journey was at an end would
speedily be decided for him. However,
there was nothing for it but to go and take
his chance of slipping through. Presently
he crossed q little stream, and made out
the shape of a cart just ahead, around
which men and a couple OF lanterns where
moving. No doubt, he thought to him
sell, it was the bishop, who had been stop
ped by the Beers. He was quite close to
the cart when it moved on, aud in another
second he was greeted by the rough chal-
lenge of a sentry, and caught sight Of the
cold CLEAN ola rifle barrel.
WE da?" Who's there?)
"Friend"' he answered, c~heerfully,
though far from cheerful.
There was a pause, during which the
sentry called to another man, who came I'D
yawning, and saying something in Dutch.
Straining his ears he caught the words,
Bishops man." and this gave him an
idea
who are yOu, EngliShman2" asked the